Göden is back, and on their latest album the sound is heavier than ever. Creator Stephen Flam is best known for his previous work with the band Winter, whose sludgy dirge earned a cult following for decades to come. Göden is the spiritual successor to Winter. One could say Celtic Frost is to Triptykon what Winter is to Göden. Their debut album, Beyond Darkness stood on its own in creating a distinctive world.
Now, four years later, they explore new sonic territories with their second album, Vale of the Fallen. While Beyond Darkness was a concept album that propelled listeners into space, whether inner or outer, Vale of the Fallen brings us back to twisted reality. Their more in-your-face approach should only intensify the experience-much like a walk through a post-apocalyptic landscape in the bleakest imaginable conditions.
”They are mostly conjured up by the science fiction world we all had to endure as humans on this one planet we share. I believe in individualism and freedom and self-wisdom. I also believe in finding yourself and escaping into yourself or into meditative worlds to understand it all or to just look to the skies from where we all came… or did we? I don’t expect everyone to understand any of this and I don’t ask anyone to, since it is purely art and up to the interpretation of the individual. Words and lyrics to me are like psychic colors on a paint brush. It’s either pretty or ugly, soothing or disturbing. Since the last 4 years there has been lot of darkness in the truth, a lot of hatred, humanity going absolutely mad, and a lot of people striving to find their tribe. I personally strive for hope and seek the higher realm of positivity always, but in the meantime, we find ourselves in the Vale of the Fallen….” says Vas Kallas, lead singer of Göden.
Sound-wise, Stephen Flam’s heavier-than-life riffs, Vas Kallas’s sardonic delivery and Tony Pinnisi’s keyboards create oppressive atmospheres atop Jason Frantz’s powerful drumming, while in contrast Margaret Murphy’s violin weaves ghostly motifs. Like its predecessor, Vale of the Fallen features interludes which provide brief respites between some tracks, only to return to the crushing heaviness in yet another avalanche of sound.
The new Göden album Vale of the Fallen will be out on CD, LP and digitally worldwide 17th of May via Svart Records. The video Urania by Dan Blafford aka Dreambreeder 079 is out right now on Svart Record’s YouTube-channel: Göden: Urania (Official Video) (youtube.com)
